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journalism → support → readers
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we → click → commission
Ahead of a massive weekend of horse racing, you can check out the latest Breeders' Cup odds in our guide to the self-styled World Championships.
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you → check → Championships
Breeders’ Cup 2026 takes place on Friday and Saturday (October 30-31) at Keeneland, Kentucky, with 14 Grade 1 races being staged across the two days.
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races → take → days
The meeting features the Breeders’ Cup Classic, one of the world’s richest races, which sees reigning champion Forever Young take on Kentucky Derby winners Sovereignty and Golden Tempo – the first time two Derby winners have met in the Classic since 1991.
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winners → feature → 1991
A strong European raiding party will also be in attendance, with Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore both expected to shine.
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O’Brien → expect → attendance
This is the season-ending showpiece for North American horse racing and styles itself as the World Championships of the sport.
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This → end → sport
That is a fair claim with the two-day meeting attracting runners from across the globe, including many from the UK and Ireland.
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meeting → attract → UK
A total of 14 Grade 1 races will take place across both dirt and turf – the latter being traditionally more suited to the European runners.
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latter → take → runners
Two-year-olds – juveniles – take centre stage on Friday’s opening day, while the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the feature race on Saturday.
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Classic → take → Saturday
It has a prize fund of US$7million, making it one of the world’s richest races.
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it → have → races
The Breeders’ Cup was first staged in 1984 and so this is the 43rd edition of the meeting.
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this → stag → meeting
It is moved around various tracks in the US and Canada – this will be its fourth visit to Keeneland, which last staged the event in 2022.
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which → move → 2022
The meeting always attracts plenty of British and Irish interest – it is widely seen as the final chance of the year for the star horses to run at the top level.
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horses → attract → level
The Breeders’ Cup comes shortly after both British Champions Day at Ascot and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting at Paris-Longchamp, which are other end-of-season targets available to owners and trainers.
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which → come → owners
However, some horses are able to run on two or even three of these cards – Arc third Diamond Necklace is among this year’s European raiders at Keeneland.
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Necklace → run → Keeneland
There are 14 Breeders’ Cup races in which more than US$34million will be at stake – five of these take place on Friday and nine on Saturday.
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five → be → Saturday
However, both Keeneland cards also feature non-Breeders’ Cup races so Friday’s card has 10 races in total, starting at 15:55 GMT.
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card → feature → GMT
Racing largely takes place in the afternoon in Kentucky, meaning UK punters will be viewing most of the action in the evening – the biggest race, the Classic, goes off at 22:16 GMT on Saturday, which is 18:16 local time.
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which → take → Saturday
Breeders' Cup Friday betting preview: Future Stars Friday
Friday is all about the two-year-olds – juveniles to use local parlance – hence it is known as ‘Future Stars Friday’.
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it → use → Friday
US fans will be looking out for contenders to win the 2027 Kentucky Derby but there will also be plenty of European interest.
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fans → look → interest
Aidan O’Brien’s Sun Goddess is set to go off as the odds-on favourite for the Juvenile Fillies Turf, one of three expected short-priced favourites on betting apps, Hughes (Juvenile) and Great Barrier Reef (Juvenile Turf) – another O’Brien runner - being the others.
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Hughes → set → apps
The trio are likely to prove popular with punters and appear in plenty of different horse racing bets and combinations.
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trio → prove → bets
George Boughey’s Lowther Stakes winner Libertango heads a strong British and Irish presence in the Juvenile Turf Sprint, which also includes Moonrise, Mussab and Velozee, while US stars Emphatic and Miss Monica go in the Juvenile Fillies.
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Emphatic → head → Fillies
For each race, we’ve highlighted the best Breeders’ Cup odds available on every runner and which bookmaker is providing them.
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bookmaker → highlight → them
We’ve also highlighted the draw number in brackets next to the horse’s name.
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We → highlight → name
8.15pm - Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf ($1m, 1 mile)
This is a big race for UK and Irish fans as Aidan O’Brien’s star, Sun Goddess, is seen as the NAP of the day, bidding for a win that would cement her position at the head of next year’s 1,000 Guineas market, to be run over the same one-mile trip.
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that → see → trip
The filly was last seen winning the Cheveley Park Stakes impressively at Newmarket.
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filly → see → Newmarket
She is due to face 13 rivals.
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She → face → rivals
Among them will be Green Empress and Alwaysanangel, both trained by Aidan’s son Joseph, meaning the Irish horses look the ones to beat.
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horses → train → son
French filly Amusingly also holds good claims.
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Amusingly → hold → claims
8.55pm - Breeders' Cup Juvenile ($2m, 1 1/16 miles dirt)
Run on the dirt by colts and geldings, this is a traditional pointer for the following year’s Kentucky Derby, raced at nearby Churchill Downs.
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this → Run → Downs
Trained by the legendary Bob Baffert, he is already a two-time Grade 1 winner.
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he → train → Baffert
Baffert’s Salahudin is also unbeaten and a serious rival to Hughes, while Kenny McPeek's Coach Pope – winner of the Breeders' Futurity – also looks a strong contender.
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Pope → look → Futurity
Aidan O’Brien has won the last four runnings of this race – eight in total - with Gstaad victorious last year.
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Gstaad → win → total
The market expects the Irish master trainer to win again, with his Coventry Stakes winner Great Barrier Reef the favourite.
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winner → expect → ?
He also saddles Haffner, Florida Bay and Man's Best Friend.
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He → saddle → Haffner
Joseph O'Brien's National Stakes winner Folsom Blues is regarded as Great Barrier Reef’s main challenger.
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winner → regard → challenger
Charlie Johnston's Pikachu and Hugo Palmer's Sale Shark are the colts heading the British charge.
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Pikachu → head → charge
- Great Barrier Reef (14) - 11/4 (Paddy Power)
- Folsom Blues (10) - 4/1 (William Hill)
- Hows Al Today (5) - 6/1 (bet365)
- Haffner (4) - 15/2 (Spreadex)
- Avec Toi (2) - 16/1 (Ladbrokes)
- Liams Law (8) - 16/1 (bet365)
- Florida Bay (3) - 20/1 (Spreadex)
- Agate (13) - 25/1 (William Hill)
- Let Em Know (7) - 25/1 (bet365)
- Mans Best Friend (11) - 33/1 (Paddy Power)
- Oscar (12) - 33/1 (William Hill)
- Popcorn - 50/1 (William Hill)
- Sale Shark (9) - 66/1 (William Hill)
- Pikachu (6) - 66/1 (William Hill)
Odds correct at time of writing.
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Em → let → writing
…and 61 more, not listed.
The Aporia
